Load balancing among bands and access points in a wireless network

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with an access point, the computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed by the access point, causes the access point to perform operations comprising:

• communicating one or more packets or frames intended for or associated with one or more electronic devices in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that is compatible with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard;
• determining, based at least on the communication, an available capacity metric of the access point;
• providing one or more messages intended for one or more second access points, wherein the one or more messages comprise the determined available capacity metric;
• receiving one or more second messages associated with the one or more second access points, wherein the one or more second messages comprise available capacity metrics of the one or more second access points;
• comparing the available capacity metric and a parameter corresponding to the available capacity metrics;
• providing, address to another access point, a request to perform a scan for communication associated with the electronic device;
• receiving, associated with the other access point, a trigger message;
• providing, addressed to the electronic device, fake traffic that is otherwise unnecessary;
• receiving, associated with the electronic device, an acknowledgment for the fake traffic;
• receiving, associated with the other access point, a report that specifies communication performance of the electronic device;
• and
• dynamically performing, based at least in part on the comparison, load balancing, wherein the load balancing comprises selectively providing a recommendation intended for at least a first electronic device of the one or more electronic devices, wherein the recommendation indicates that the first electronic device, which is associated with the access point, transition to a different communication channel,
• wherein the recommendation is based at least in part on the report,
• wherein the recommendation allows the first electronic device to accept the transition or to ignore the recommendation and to remain with a current communication channel, and
• wherein the different communication channel is in a first band of frequencies and is associated with the access point.

A method for performing dynamic load balancing, comprising:

• by an access point:
• communicating one or more packets or frames intended for or associated with one or more electronic devices in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that is compatible with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard;
• determining, based at least on the communication, an available capacity metric of the access point;
• providing one or more messages intended for one or more second access points, wherein the one or more messages comprise the determined available capacity metric;
• receiving one or more second messages associated with the one or more second access points, wherein the one or more second messages comprise available capacity metrics of the one or more second access points;
• comparing the available capacity metric and a parameter corresponding to the available capacity metrics;
• providing, address to another access point, a request to perform a scan for communication associated with the electronic device;
• receiving, associated with the other access point, a trigger message;
• providing, addressed to the electronic device, fake traffic that is otherwise unnecessary;
• receiving, associated with the electronic device, an acknowledgment for the fake traffic;
• receiving, associated with the other access point, a report that specifies communication performance of the electronic device;
• and
• dynamically performing, based at least in part on the comparison, the load balancing, wherein the load balancing comprises selectively providing a recommendation intended for at least a first electronic device of the one or more electronic devices, wherein the recommendation indicates that the first electronic device, which is associated with the access point, transition to a different communication channel,
• wherein the recommendation is based at least in part on the report,
• wherein the recommendation allows the first electronic device to accept the transition or to ignore the recommendation and to remain with a current communication channel, and
• wherein the different communication channel is in a first band of frequencies and is associated with the access point.